Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  The day we celebrate God's greatest gift to us.  The much smaller gifts at our house have all been unwrapped and I think everyone is well pleased.  The busy part of December is past and now I can relax and enjoy my family and get back to my regular sewing projects.

We spent a couple days at my parents where I noticed this card made by my aunt. Very pretty stitching!

 Most of my Christmas sewing was to make doll dresses for each of my daughters. They love these dolls.  It was very difficult to keep it a secret so their surprised delight was very rewarding.  It was fun choosing trims and fabrics for something different.

 I also made some potholders for DH's mom.  These had to be finished quickly so I tried something new - I sewed the binding onto the back and topstitched it down on the front with the machine.  The results were ok.  I was very pleased that it went so fast as I was crunched for time.

I was spoiled with roses for my birthday and  2 weeks later the white ones are still beautiful.  Outside there are piles of snow everywhere so it is lovely to have these inside.

Happy Stitching!

circle quilt update

I thought I'd post an update on my Circle Quilt blocks.  My friend and I have been getting together to work on them. Here are my first 4 blocks.  

 We worked on the double wedding ring block last night.  It was definitely out of my comfort zone.

My friend has been so patient with me. She puts up with much whining and complaining about the difficulty.  I could NOT be making these blocks without her!

 Here are both of our blocks.  Hers looks so calm and organized. Mine looks a bit wild and disorganized.  This could be a reflection of our personalities...  :0)

And a photo of the other blocks we have worked on. These will be 2 very different quilts when they are done.  It is good to be learning some new piecing skills and fun to be working on such a challenging project with a friend.

Happy Quilting!!

a gift made

I took the last stitch in the binding of this little gift quilt last night. I still need to get it in the mail but I think it can still be called an early Dec gift.

 What a fun little project this was. The pattern is called A Delightful Pairing by Kim Diehl in the Dec issue of AP&Q.  I haven't got the next issue yet so I think I got it made in under a month -must be a record for me :0)

 It warmed up to -16 degrees Celsius today ( in Fahrenheit that's 3 degrees) and the sun came out so I thought I would pop outside for a couple quick pictures.  They were quick!

I love the texture of hand applique once its been quilted around by hand. I'm so glad the sun came out today.  We've had blizzard conditions the last couple days.  Somehow the cold is more tolerable when the sun is shining.
Now I just need to get the rest of my Christmas sewing done...  :0)

Happy Quilting!